Fourth time's a charm

King beats G-P for first time since series began in '04

GP's Kaleb Shrader and Brandon Perez try to stop King's Chris Jackson on a 29-yard touchdown run during the 1st quarter of the game Thursday night at Wildcat Stadium.

PORTLAND - It took four tries, but King finally figured out Gregory-Portland.

Running back Phillip Thomas rushed for 109 yards and scored twice to help power the Mustangs to a 28-20 victory Thursday night at Wildcat Stadium. Quarterback Matt Morales added 95 yards on the ground and passed for 81, including a 50-yard touchdown throw to Thomas with less than two minutes to play.

"We just came together as a team and executed the way we're supposed to in the second half," said Thomas, who finished with three catches for 59 yards. "We just started playing as a team."

King led 6-0 after the first quarter, but G-P scored three times in the first three minutes of the second to take a 20-6 advantage.

The first came when Derek Parker scored on a 46-yard pass from Sterling Martin nine seconds into the quarter. An interception by Duck Lowrance then set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Bud Mayo at the 9:52 mark.

On the first play of King's next series -- a mere 17 seconds later -- LaChristian Thomas returned a fumble by Morales 23 yards to the end zone. Jonathan Velasco missed the extra point, leaving G-P with a 20-6 lead.

However, Morales helped bring the Mustangs to within 20-14 on a 29-yard touchdown just before halftime. Thomas gave King the lead for good when he soared across the goal line on fourth and 1 midway through the third quarter.

The Mustangs held G-P scoreless the rest of the way while reaching the end zone one more time on the pass from Morales to Thomas.

"We just wanted to melt the clock," Thomas said. "When we scored that touchdown, that was the game."

King finished with 332 yards and held G-P to only 113 yards -- 102 of that passing.

"The offense was having some trouble," receiver Holden Rios said. "Toward the end, if we weren't getting so tired, we probably could've pulled it off. We're just going to have to work hard at practice."

Working from the King 17, Aaron Alexander picked up a first down when he hauled in a 22-yard pass from Morales. The series nearly stalled at midfield on fourth and 1, but Thomas pushed his way across the line of scrimmage for the necessary yard.

Two plays later, Morales kept the ball on a draw up the middle for a 19-yard gain to the G-P 29. Needing a yard on third down, the Mustangs were penalized three straight times, the second of which negated a 48-yard touchdown strike from Morales to Thomas.

Back on the 29, King called a reverse that receiver Chris Jackson turned into a 29-yard scoring run. The Mustangs botched the extra point and returned to the sideline holding a 6-0 lead with 4:44 left in the first quarter.

"That's what we planned on doing the entire game, but somewhere it got messed up," Thomas said. "Then we got back to it at the end."